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Have you ever created a recipe in a whim? Even if a variation of the recipe already exists (as I found out later), it still gives pride to have achieved something this pleasant. When we craved for a warm dessert one evening, I put together this recipe with what I had on hand. Apple pie was the basic idea, but without the crust and hence the calories. Needless to say, it was an instant success. Since then, I have made this recipe several times now and it has been perfected every time, to suit our palette.

When Joanna announced Heart of The Matter – Baking, I knew this is the recipe I am going to submit. So far, I have used a tbsp of cold butter for the crust/crisp. To make it even healthier, I did what I always do to make anything fat free – Apple sauce. I had to increase the cooking time by 5 minutes, due to increased moisture. Replacing butter with apple sauce made the crust slightly chewy than crispy. But, hey, with a guilt-free dessert like this, I have no complaints.

This is great for entertaining your guests too. You can make this ahead and keep it in a 200F oven, until served. Apples cook down considerably, hence, try packing as much apples possible into the ramekins. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use a mixture of ground cloves, allspice or cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Oat bran is added for a bite which is a nice contrast to the soft apples. You can omit that or substitute with all-purpose flour.

Take 2 ramekins and divide the apple slices equally between the two. Tightly pack the slices as much you can. Top with the oats mixture prepared above. Pop in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, until apples are soft and the oats flakes are toasty. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve warm. You can also serve this with ice cream or freshly whipped cream. I didn't bother for ice cream; it was devoured within minutes.

suganya! seriously yo beat me to this girl...i have had visions of making this desert with some variation for a while.....now i will not bother with the experiment..but just make urs :)...btw. i was so inspired by ur ramekins..i went and bought a few colored ones of my own in diff colors ;)

i'm gonna have to try this suganya. my daughter had apple crisp at school and ever since has been wanting me ot make it. i told her i dont know how to make it and she devised her own recipe -something about putting it in the microwave and putting some crunchy stuf fon it etc. :-) she'll love the surprise if i make it. i dont have some of the stuff on u're list of ingredients, ahve to shop for those. will let u know when i try it :-) thanks for the recipe.

Nags, with butter (or margarine) the crust was crispy. The aroma part is true. The whole house smelled of cinnamon y'day :)

Me too, Roopa.

Thank you Padmaja.

Latha Maami, Here, in the US, almost any dessert is loaded with butter or cream cheese. Delicious they may be, devouring them results in another layer around one's waist ;). And thus the guilt.

HC, You said it. Delicious and healthy.

Happy to help Rajitha. I have experimented with this enough that I don't even measure anymore. Handful of this and a pinch of that :)... I would love to see one of yr creations in those colourful ramekins. Don't keep me waiting.

Oh yes, Sunitha. I hope you like it, you 'Baking Queen'.

Hannah, Thanks for dropping by. I skimmed through yr blog. Wow, you have an amazing one. I will go through yr recipes leisurely :). And I try to veganize recipes as much as I can!

Thanks Sandeepa, but the truth is, it was taken at around 9 in the night ;).

Asha, I totally agree with the sugar part. I am not a big fan of sugar, but the recipe is tweaked so that it is likable to all. The sweeter the apple, less the sugar I add.

Thanks Sirisha :D

Microwaving apples is totally trouble-free, Padma. The crust/crisp doesn't get that toasty. But that is fine instead of heating the big ol' oven!

Hope you try this Kribha!

Oh Sra :D. I noticed the ramekins were dirty (?). Thats because the apples have cooked down and I didn't have the energy to correct it so late in the evening.

Priyanka, You are kind!

Thanks for dropping by, Rohini!

Sure Laavanya. Let me know whether you liked it.

A smart cookie, your daughter is, Latha :). They have a neat way of explaining things. I remembered Cheez It commercial reading that..Haha.. If you are making this for yr daughter, you can use butter instead of apple sauce. Tht makes them crispy and crusty. Pls let me know whether she liked it.

Bee, Ground flax may work. But I didn't think flax bcoz we had pancakes with looooootsa flax seeds y'day morning. But thats definitely a good suggestion :).